Stefan Peters

Stephan Engelsmann

Valerie Spalding

Plastics are high-performance materials of wide use in the built environment. Their versatile technical properties are particularly fascinating. A broad range of form-giving and finishing processes makes plastic especially interesting for complex geometries in combination with digital planning processes. Following the pioneering plastic structures of the 1970s, a number of spectacular buildings have in recent years highlighted the outstanding technical and aesthetic potential of the material. Until now, however, there has been no systematic treatment of the use of plastic in architecture. This book seeks to fill that gap by providing an introduction to the structural and design possibilities of plastic. It introduces the material and its specific characteristics, describes various types of plastic in terms of their relevance for building, explains processing technologies and presents typical products and components. A concise presentation of twenty-five international built projects – organized by the type of application and the plastic involved – documents the broad range of plastic in architecture. Finally, a look ahead at the future describes the current state of the art in materials research.

in Architecture and Construction

Plastics

Olaf Kaltmeier

Eleonora Rohland

Hans-Jürgen Burchardt

Christina Schnepel

Klimawandel, Artensterben, massive Ressourcenausbeutung, Umweltverschmutzung, der Verbrauch nicht erneuerbarer, aber lebenswichtiger Elemente, all das sind Symptome einer planetarischen Krise, die die Ökosysteme – und damit auch den Menschen – gegenwärtig in ihrer Existenz bedrohen. Trotz ihrer globalen Dimensionen hat diese Krise regional, sozial und politisch sehr unterschiedliche Auswirkungen. Im Band werden die globalen Facetten dieser multiplen Umweltkrisen aus der Perspektive Lateinamerikas betrachtet. Dabei werden – gerade was den mit der Krise zusammenhängenden Konsum angeht – auch die Verflechtungen mit Europa betont. Zugleich diskutieren die Beiträge konkrete Lösungen und kreative Antworten auf die globale ökologische Krise aus lateinamerikanischer Perspektive. Mit Beiträgen von Antoine Acker, Maria Backhouse, Hans-Jürgen Burchardt, Kristina Dietz, Olaf Kaltmeier, Sandra Lassak, Rosa Lehmann, Andrés López-Rivera, Franz Mauelshagen, Stefan Peters, María Cecilia Roa, Eleonora Rohland, Christina Schnepel und Maristella Svampa.

Stefan Peters

Books

Your next favorite book is out there